Transaction processing system

ABSTRACT

The transaction processing system and method provide an efficient and effective way to authorize promotion redemption. The transaction processing system may receive an indication of a request for authorization, the indication comprising a merchant identifier, an account number, and a transaction amount. The transaction processing system may determine whether the request for authorization corresponds to a promotion. The system may further transmit a transaction authorization based on whether the request for authorization corresponds to the promotion. The transaction processing system may cause a promotion database to designate the promotion as redeemed. In this fashion, the transaction processing system improves the consumer experience and minimizes the transaction time needed to identify and redeem a promotion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This non-provisional application is a divisional application of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/752,088, filed Jan. 28, 2013, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/591,777, filedJan. 27, 2012, the entire contents of both of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present description relates to processing merchant transactions.This description more specifically relates to creating a promotionassociated with a product or a service, and redeeming the promotion.

BACKGROUND

Merchants frequently wish to offer promotions to consumers. However, theprocess of redeeming a promotion during a transaction often addssignificant delay to the transaction, detracting from the consumerexperience and potentially making the promotion less enticing. Currentmethods do not provide merchants with a way to quickly and efficientlyvalidate promotions during a transaction. Instead, merchants currentlyuse cumbersome manual processes to identify promotions and to determinea consumer's eligibility to redeem the promotions.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A transaction processing method and apparatus are provided forauthorizing promotion redemption. In addition, a method and apparatusare provided for managing a promotion database accessible over afinancial network. Finally, a method and apparatus are provided for useby merchants to receive transaction authorizations regarding promotionredemption requests.

In one example embodiment, a method is provided that receives anindication of a request for authorization, the indication comprisingtransaction information (e.g., a merchant identifier, an account number,and a transaction amount). The method may determine whether the requestfor authorization corresponds to a promotion, and may further transmit atransaction authorization based on whether the request for authorizationcorresponds to the promotion. The method may cause a promotion databaseto designate the promotion as redeemed.

In one embodiment, determining whether the request for authorizationcorresponds to a promotion is based on the transaction information, suchas a merchant identifier, an account number, or a transaction amount. Inanother embodiment, causing a promotion database to designate thepromotion as redeemed comprises modifying a redemption field associatedwith the promotion in the promotion database. In another embodiment,modifying the redemption field associated with the promotion comprisescausing the redemption field associated with the promotion to bedecremented. In yet another embodiment, causing a promotion database todesignate the promotion as redeemed comprises causing removal of acorrelation of the merchant identifier, account number, or transactionamount to the promotion in the promotion database. In anotherembodiment, causing a promotion database to designate the promotion asredeemed comprises causing removal of a promotion identifier correlatedwith the promotion from the promotion database. In another embodiment,determining whether the request for authorization corresponds to apromotion comprises determining whether a redemption field associatedwith the promotion identifier designates the promotion as redeemed.

In another embodiment, determining whether the request for authorizationcorresponds to the promotion comprises determining whether thetransaction amount is less than a predetermined amount. In anotherembodiment, in response to determining that the transaction amount isless than the predetermined amount, the method may determine whether thetransaction amount is associated with the promotion in the promotiondatabase. In a further embodiment, in response to determining that thetransaction amount is less than the predetermined amount, the method maydetermine whether the transaction amount and the merchant identifier areassociated with the promotion in the promotion database. In yet anotherembodiment, determining whether the request for authorizationcorresponds to the promotion may comprise determining whether theaccount number is associated with the promotion in the promotiondatabase.

In another embodiment of the method, determining whether the request forauthorization corresponds to the promotion may comprise determiningwhether the merchant identifier and the account number are associatedwith the promotion in the promotion database. Alternatively, determiningwhether the request for authorization corresponds to the promotion maycomprise determining whether the account number and the transactionamount are associated with the promotion in the promotion database.

In one embodiment, in response to determining that the request forauthorization corresponds to the promotion, the method may apply thepromotion to the transaction amount and calculate a remaining balance.Accordingly, the method may further include charging the remainingbalance to a consumer account. In one embodiment, the promotion maycomprise an offer for a consumer to receive a discount, a rebate, or areward. In another embodiment, the request for authorization comprises arequest to redeem the promotion. In another embodiment, the accountnumber comprises a credit card number, a debit card number, a chargecard number, or a loyalty card number.

In another example embodiment, an apparatus is provided for authorizingpromotion redemption, the apparatus comprising at least one processorand at least one memory including computer program code, the at leastone memory and the computer program code configured to, with the atleast one processor, cause the apparatus to receive an indication of arequest for authorization of a transaction, the indication comprising amerchant identifier, an account number, and a transaction amount. The atleast one memory and the computer program code are further configuredto, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to determinewhether the request for authorization corresponds to a promotion, andtransmit a transaction authorization based on whether the request forauthorization corresponds to the promotion. The at least one memory andthe computer program code are further configured to, with the at leastone processor, cause the apparatus to cause a promotion database todesignate the promotion as redeemed.

In one embodiment, the at least one memory and the computer program codeare further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause theapparatus to determine whether the request for authorization correspondsto a promotion based on the merchant identifier, the account number, orthe transaction amount. In another embodiment, causing a promotiondatabase to designate the promotion as redeemed comprises causingmodification of a redemption field associated with the promotion in thepromotion database. In another embodiment, causing modification of theredemption field associated with the promotion comprises causing theredemption field associated with the promotion to be decremented. In yetanother embodiment, causing a promotion database to designate thepromotion as redeemed comprises causing removal of a correlation of themerchant identifier, account number, or transaction amount to thepromotion in the promotion database. In another embodiment, causing apromotion database to designate the promotion as redeemed comprisescausing removal of a promotion identifier correlated with the promotionfrom the promotion database. In another embodiment, determining whetherthe request for authorization corresponds to a promotion comprisesdetermining whether a redemption field associated with the promotionidentifier designates the promotion as redeemed.

In one embodiment, determining whether the request for authorizationcorresponds to the promotion comprises determining whether thetransaction amount is less than a predetermined amount. In anotherembodiment, in response to determining that the transaction amount isless than the predetermined amount, the at least one memory and thecomputer program code are further configured to, with the at least oneprocessor, cause the apparatus to determine whether the transactionamount is associated with the promotion in the promotion database. In afurther embodiment, in response to determining that the transactionamount is less than the predetermined amount, the at least one memoryand the computer program code are further configured to, with the atleast one processor, cause the apparatus to determine whether thetransaction amount and the merchant identifier are associated with thepromotion in the promotion database. In yet another embodiment,determining whether the request for authorization corresponds to thepromotion may comprise determining whether the account number isassociated with the promotion in the promotion database.

In another embodiment of the apparatus, determining whether the requestfor authorization corresponds to the promotion may comprise determiningwhether the merchant identifier and the account number are associatedwith the promotion in the promotion database. Alternatively, determiningwhether the request for authorization corresponds to the promotion maycomprise determining whether the account number and the transactionamount are associated with the promotion in the promotion database.

In one embodiment, in response to determining that the request forauthorization corresponds to the promotion, the at least one memory andthe computer program code are further configured to, with the at leastone processor, cause the apparatus to apply the promotion to thetransaction amount and calculate a remaining balance. Accordingly, theat least one memory and the computer program code are further configuredto, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to charge theremaining balance to a consumer account. In one embodiment, thepromotion may comprise an offer for a consumer to receive a discount, arebate, or a reward. In another embodiment, the transaction may comprisea request to redeem the promotion. In another embodiment, the accountnumber may comprise a credit card number, a debit card number, a chargecard number, or a loyalty card number.

In another embodiment, a method is provided for managing a promotiondatabase accessible over a financial network. The method may receiveinput data comprising an account number, a transaction amount, amerchant identifier, or a consumer identifier. The method may furthergenerate a promotion identifier indicative of a promotion. The methodmay correlate the promotion identifier to the account number, thetransaction amount, the merchant identifier, or the consumer identifier,and store the promotion identifier, the account number, the transactionamount, the merchant identifier, or the consumer identifier in thepromotion database.

In one embodiment, the method may store a redemption field in thepromotion database, wherein the redemption field is associated with thestored promotion identifier, account number, transaction amount,merchant identifier, or consumer identifier.

In another embodiment, an apparatus is provided for managing a promotiondatabase accessible over a financial network. The apparatus includes atleast one processor and at least one memory including computer programcode, the at least one memory and the computer program code configuredto, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to receiveinput data comprising an account number, a transaction amount, amerchant identifier, or a consumer identifier. The at least one memoryand the computer program code are further configured to, with the atleast one processor, cause the apparatus to generate a promotionidentifier indicative of a promotion, correlate the promotion identifierto the account number, the transaction amount, the merchant identifier,or the consumer identifier and store the promotion identifier, theaccount number, the transaction amount, the merchant identifier, or theconsumer identifier in the promotion database.

In one embodiment, the at least one memory and the computer program codeare further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause theapparatus to store a redemption field in the promotion database, whereinthe redemption field is associated with the stored promotion identifier,account number, transaction amount, merchant identifier, or consumeridentifier.

In another example embodiment, a method is provided that receives, froma consumer, a request to redeem a promotion. The method generates, by apoint of sale terminal, a request for authorization based on the requestto redeem the promotion, the request for authorization including amerchant identifier, an account number and a transaction amount. Themethod further transmits the request for authorization, wherein therequest for authorization is configured for interpretation by apromotion identifying module, and receives a transaction authorizationindicating acceptance or declination of the request for authorization.

In one embodiment, the method may further include accepting or decliningthe request to redeem the promotion. In another embodiment, generatingthe request for authorization may comprise generating the account numberbased on the request to redeem the promotion, and generating thetransaction amount based on the promotion. In yet another embodiment,generating the account number based on the request to redeem thepromotion may comprise interpreting data received from scanning a creditcard, a debit card, a charge card, or a loyalty card, or capturing inputreceived via a user interface. In another embodiment, generating therequest for authorization may comprise generating the account numberbased on the request to redeem the promotion, and generating thetransaction amount based on a product or service. In this regard,generating the account number based on the request to redeem thepromotion may comprise interpreting data received by scanning a creditcard, a debit card, a charge card, or a loyalty card, or capturing inputreceived via a user interface.

In another example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, the apparatuscomprising at least one processor and at least one memory includingcomputer program code, the at least one memory and the computer programcode configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatusto generate, by a point of sale terminal, a request for authorizationbased on a request to redeem a promotion, the request for authorizationincluding a merchant identifier, an account number and a transactionamount, transmit the request for authorization to a remote device, andreceive a transaction authorization indicating acceptance or declinationof the request for authorization.

In one embodiment, the memory further includes computer program codeconfigured to, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus toaccept or decline the request to redeem the promotion. In anotherembodiment, generating the request for authorization may comprisegenerating the account number based on the request to redeem thepromotion, and generating the transaction amount based on the promotion.In yet another embodiment, generating the number based on the requestmay comprise interpreting data received from scanning a credit card, adebit card, a charge card, or a loyalty card, or capturing inputreceived via a user interface. In another embodiment, generating therequest for authorization may comprise generating the account numberbased on the request to redeem the promotion, and generating thetransaction amount based on a product or service. In another embodiment,generating the number based on the request may comprise interpretingdata received from scanning a credit card, a debit card, a charge card,or a loyalty card, or capturing input received via a user interface.

Other systems, methods, and features will be, or will become, apparentto one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figuresand detailed description. It is intended that all such additionalsystems, methods, features and be included within this description, bewithin the scope of the disclosure, and be protected by the followingclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The transaction processing system may be better understood withreference to the following drawings and description. Non-limiting andnon-exhaustive descriptions are described with reference to thefollowing drawings. The components in the figures are not necessarily toscale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating principles. Inthe figures, like referenced numerals may refer to like parts throughoutthe different figures unless otherwise specified.

FIG. 1a shows a representation of the transaction processing systemprocessing a credit card transaction according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 1b shows constituent elements comprising an account numberaccording to an example embodiment;

FIG. 1c shows constituent elements comprising a request forauthorization according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 1d shows constituent elements of a transaction authorizationaccording to an example embodiment;

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an account issuing bank system accordingto an example embodiment;

FIG. 3a illustrates operations for managing a promotion databaseaccording to some example embodiments;

FIG. 3b shows a logic flow used by a point of sale terminal to receivean indication of whether a consumer may redeem a promotion, inaccordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 4 shows transaction processing logic used by a transactionprocessing system and operations performed by a promotion identifyingmodule, in accordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram for a merchant system according to anexample embodiment;

FIG. 6 shows example operations for authorizing promotion redemption,according to some embodiments;

FIG. 7 shows an example transaction processing system configuration;

FIG. 8 shows a logic flow including transaction processing logic and aseries of operations performed by a promotion identifying module, inaccordance with some additional example embodiments; and

FIG. 9 illustrates a practical example of the transaction processingsystem according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The principles described herein may be embodied in many different forms.Not all of the depicted components may be required, however, and someimplementations may include additional, different, or fewer components.Variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the claims as set forthherein. Additional, different, or fewer components may be provided.

The transaction processing system collects information from merchantinteractions with consumers, and uses the collected information toreduce the transaction time taken to: determine whether to apply apromotion (such as a discount, reward, coupon, rebate, pre-purchasedmerchant credit, or other deal intended to increase demand and/ordifferentiate a product, service, or merchant) to a transaction;determine whether to authorize the transaction for a specific product orspecific service; and/or assist in determining the eligibility of theconsumer for a promotion. The transaction processing system may expeditetransactions by using a merchant's point of sale terminal to send arequest for authorization to verify the applicability of a promotion toa consumer's purchase and to redeem the promotion.

In a first embodiment, the merchant's point of sale terminal may be usedto send the request for authorization comprising transaction informationsuch as, for example, a consumer's account number and a transactionvalue that may alone, or in combination, identify a promotion (i.e., thetransaction value acts as a promotion identifier). The transactionprocessing system may identify the request for authorization based onthis promotion identifier, determine whether the consumer is authorizedto redeem the promotion, and authorize the transaction if the consumeris authorized to redeem the promotion. As a result, the merchant usingthe point of sale terminal can determine whether the consumer may redeemthe promotion.

In a second embodiment, the consumer may present an account number tothe merchant for authorization using, for example, a loyalty card or avirtual representation of the same (e.g., a mobile device supportedbarcode, etc.). In this embodiment, the merchant's point of saleterminal may be used to send a request for authorization with theloyalty card number (i.e., an account number) and a predefinedtransaction value that identifies the promotion. The loyalty card numberenables the card system to route the request to a promotion identifyingmodule (perhaps hosted by a remote server such as that used by a creditissuing bank) that is configured to access a promotion database whenmaking the authorization determination.

In a third embodiment, the merchant's point of sale terminal may be usedto send a request for authorization with transaction information such asan account number and a transaction value. In this embodiment, theaccount number identifies the promotion and the transaction amountsimply identifies the actual cost of the transaction. In particular,when the merchant's point of sale terminal is used to transmit therequest for authorization, the account number acts as a promotionidentifier. A transaction authorization can be sent to the point of saleterminal for use by the merchant. In some embodiments, payment for thetransaction can also be completed in response to the request forauthorization without the need for a subsequent payment transaction.

Turning now to FIG. 1a , a representation of the transaction processingsystem 100 is shown processing a request for authorization comprisingtransaction information. In the depicted embodiment, the transactioninformation includes an account number, which for illustration purposesis a credit card number. However, as will be apparent to one of ordinaryskill in the art, any account number may be used in connection with theinventive concepts herein described such as, for example, a debit cardnumber, a loyalty card number, a virtual account number, a savings orchecking account number, a transaction number, and the like.

When a consumer 102 (e.g., a customer or a customer's device, such as amobile terminal or a computer) uses a credit card to complete atransaction, the consumer 102 presents the credit card number to themerchant to complete the transaction. The credit card includes anaccount number 104, which, as shown in FIG. 1b , identifies the type ofaccount 106, the account issuing bank 108, and the consumer's account110 at the issuing bank. The merchant (e.g., merchant system 112) inputsthe account number 104 into a point of sale terminal (such as byscanning the credit card through a magnetic or optical scanner toretrieve information from the card or by manually inputting the accountnumber using a user interface on the machine, such as a keypad), andinputs the transaction amount into the point of sale terminal (e.g.,using the keypad in the merchant system 112 or scanning a price or UPCtag for a product or service).

In the depicted embodiment, the point of sale terminal then sends arequest for authorization 114 to the acquiring bank system 116 over afinancial network. The acquiring bank system 116 is the bank thathandles the merchant's credit-card account, in order to obtainauthorization for the transaction. As shown in FIG. 1c , the request forauthorization 114 may include transaction information such as, forexample, a merchant identifier 118 (or other type of transactionidentifier), the account number 104 (here, a credit card number),optionally a reward logic identifier 120, and a transaction amount 122.In other embodiments, other types of transaction information may beused. In some embodiments, the request for authorization 114 mayadditionally include a reward logic identifier 120 that containsadditional data that can be used to process a request for authorizationor identify a given promotion as discussed in greater detail below.

FIG. 1a illustrates the acquiring bank system 116 forwarding the requestfor authorization 114 via the financial network to the intermediarysystem 124, which may use a router 126 to identify an account issuingbank system 128 corresponding to the account number 104 and to forwardthe request for authorization 114 via the financial network to theaccount issuing bank system 128. In this regard, each request forauthorization may not actually be transmitted to each receiver as afully-formed request, but may comprise only an indication of the requestitself, such as a string of binary information that represents therequest and that can be reconstructed into the request (or data that maybe interpreted as a request) by a receiving processor or system.Nevertheless, these transmissions, and all other transmissions of asimilar kind, will be referred to in more general terms for the sake ofclarity.

The account issuing bank system 128 (the bank that issued the accountnumber 104 to the consumer 102) maintains up-to-date information on theconsumer's account 130 (e.g., account balance and account status). Theaccount issuing bank system 128 may also include a promotion identifyingmodule 146, a promotion database 132, and a consumer profile database134. The merchant system 112 may periodically communicate updates to thepromotion database 132 via a promotion network that may be separate fromthe financial network. The consumer 102 may also separately communicateupdates 138 to the consumer profile database 134.

In some embodiments, the promotion identifying module 146 may determinewhether a request for authorization corresponds to a promotion stored inthe promotion database 132 or is otherwise associated with a consumerprofile from the consumer profile database 134. While the promotionidentifying module 146, the promotion database 132, and the consumerprofile database 134 are described in relation to, and as features of,the account issuing bank system 128, this description is merely forillustration purposes. In alternative embodiments, the promotionidentifying module 146, the promotion database 132, and the consumerprofile database 134 may be resident in the acquiring bank system 128,the card system 124, a promotion network that may be operated, forexample, by the promotion-offering business, or any combination thereof.

When the request for authorization comprises transaction informationthat is not indicative of a promotion (e.g., the account number and thetransaction amount are indicative of an ordinary request to authorize atransaction for a transaction amount without reference to anypromotion), the promotion identifying module 146 notifies the accountissuing bank system 128, which examines the consumer account database130 of the consumer 102 to determine whether the consumer's account hasa sufficient balance (e.g., a credit balance) to cover the proposedtransaction. If so, the account issuing bank system 128 transmits atransaction authorization 140 (perhaps containing an authorizationcode). The transaction authorization 140 is sent back to the acquiringbank system 116 (through the intermediary system 124) and eventually ispassed along to the merchant system 112 that sent the request forauthorization 114.

Alternatively, when the promotion identifying module 146 determines thatthe request for authorization is indicative of a promotion, thepromotion identifying module 146 identifies which promotion the requestfor authorization is indicative of, and determines whether the consumer102 is authorized to redeem the promotion (such as an identifieddiscount associated with a specific product or service). The promotionidentifying module 146 then generates a transaction authorization 140that is sent back to the merchant system 112.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1d , the transaction authorization140 may optionally include a promotion identifier 142 and a promotionvalue 144 that identifies a redeemable value amount for the promotionidentified by the promotion identifier 142. In another embodiment, thetransaction authorization 140 may embody a simple approval or denialmessage. While the term “transaction authorization” is used herein toencompass the message, signal, or data sent from the promotionidentifying module 146 to the merchant system 112, this term should notbe construed as covering only “authorized” transactions but rather alsoencompasses signals or messages where a proposed transaction has been orshould be declined.

Various embodiments discussed herein involve the promotion identifier142 determining whether the request for authorization is indicative of apromotion based, at least in part, on transaction information such asthe merchant identifier, the account number, or the transaction amount.In some embodiments, only one of the transaction information values(e.g., the merchant identifier, the account number, or the transactionamount) are used to identify a promotion. However, in other embodiments,various combinations of two or more transaction information values maybe used. For example, in one embodiment, a merchant identifier and anaccount number may be used. In another embodiment, a merchant identifierand a transaction amount may be used. In still other embodiments, amerchant identifier, an account number, and a transaction amount may beused.

In one embodiment, the intermediary system 124 may coordinate thetransfer of funds from the account issuing bank system 128, which paysfor the transaction and extends credit to the consumer 102, to theacquiring bank system 116, which holds an account in the merchant'sname. The actual transfer of money between the acquiring bank system 116and the account issuing bank system 128, and the actual debiting of theconsumer's account 130 may not occur until sometime after authorizationof the transaction (e.g., a day or two after the actual transactiondate). In the meantime, the account issuing bank system 128 may place apending charge on the consumer's account 130 and count the transactionagainst the consumer's remaining available credit limit even though thetransaction has not yet cleared.

In the context of processing promotion transactions, the reconciliationfor authorization of the promotion may occur contemporaneously with theauthorization, or may occur at a later time (such as a day or two afterthe authorization). In other words, in some embodiments, authorizationof a promotion may be provided immediately, but consideration (e.g.,payment) for the promotion may be debited from the consumer's account130 at a later date, allowing a consumer to effectively purchase apromotion at the time of redemption. In other embodiments, a consumermay have pre-purchased the promotion from a third party promotionoffering business such that redemption of the promotion causes funds tobe transmitted from the promotion offering business to the merchantsystem either immediately or after some reconciliation period.

The term “account number” as used herein may refer to a physical paymentcard number (such as a credit card number, debit card number, or chargecard number), a loyalty card number (i.e., a number associated with acard that may or may not be used as a payment card), a “virtual” accountnumber, or any other number that may uniquely identify the consumer orthe proposed transaction.

In one embodiment, i.e., in credit card applications, the first portionof an account number typically represents the Issuer IdentificationNumber (IIN) and the account issuing bank system 128 that issued therespective account number. The remaining digits are usually allocated bythe account issuing bank system 128 to identify individual accounts. Insome embodiments, the account issuing bank system 128 is an existingaccount issuing bank system, such as Visa®, Mastercard®, or Discover®.However, in embodiments in which the account number is a virtual accountnumber, the account number may not be associated with a physical paymentcard, but instead may be associated with promotions by apromotion-offering business (e.g., Groupon®).

In some embodiments, the promotion-offering business may acquire a rangeof account numbers from an account issuing bank system 128 (e.g., ablock of unissued credit card numbers). The promotion-offering businessmay thereafter assign each account numbers of the range of accountnumbers to indicate a specific promotion. For example, account number1234-1234-1234-1234 may correspond to a promotion for $40 at Acme NailSalon. This promotion could be sold to a consumer for $20 and theconsumer thereafter issued the account number 1234-1234-1234-1234, whichwould be transmitted by the merchant system in connection with a requestfor authorization as described in greater detail below.

In one embodiment, the account number may be issued to the consumerfollowing a first transaction between the consumer and thepromotion-offering business (e.g., when a consumer uses a PC, mobilephone, or other such device to purchase a promotion, i.e., the $20 for$40 Acme Nail Salon promotion noted above). Such transactions mayfrequently be completed via a network, such as the Internet. Forexample, the promotion-offering business may generate an account numberduring or shortly after this first transaction, and may transmit theaccount number via the network to the consumer (e.g., to an applicationrunning on a consumer's smart phone). Additionally, upon generating theaccount number, the promotion-offering business may also transmit theaccount number to a promotion database for correlation with thepromotion. The promotion database may be a proprietary database hostedby the promotion-offering business, or alternatively may be a part of anaccount issuing bank system 128, an intermediary system 124, or anacquiring bank system 116, each of which may be connected to a financialnetwork that may periodically receive requests for authorization oftransactions.

In another embodiment, the account number is not generated at the timeof the first transaction, but instead may be generated and transmittedto the consumer and the promotion database at or shortly before theconsumer attempts to redeem the promotion. For instance, using a mobilephone (e.g., a smart phone) running a software application, the consumermay transmit a request to redeem the promotion (i.e., perhaps afterpressing a “redeem” soft key or virtual button presented by theapplication), in response to which the promotion-offering business(i.e., via its network circuitry or processor) generates the accountnumber and transmits it to both the consumer's mobile phone and thepromotion database. Thereafter, the account number may be displayed onthe consumer's mobile phone in alphanumeric text format, barcode format,QR code format, or the like.

Such displayed account number may be presented to the merchant point ofsale terminal (i.e., part of the merchant system 112), which may employan optical reader, scanner, or similar device to read and interpret theaccount number. Such account number may be embedded within, encryptedwithin, or otherwise embodied by a request for authorization transmittedby the merchant system 112.

Because the account numbers need not be until assigned shortly beforeredemption, in some embodiments each account number may be assigned to aparticular promotion for only a short duration (such as 30 minutes fromwhen the consumer presses an icon to redeem the promotion), after whichthe account number is redeemed and made available to be reassigned toanother consumer who has purchased a promotion. Each account number maybe unique to a single promotion, or alternatively account numbers may beassigned to multiple promotions (each perhaps associated with adifferent merchant) simultaneously, wherein in any potential request forauthorization, the merchant identifier 118 may be used to differentiatepromotions having the same account number. Using these and other similarassigning methods, the promotion-offering business need not maintainaccount numbers for each consumer that has purchased each promotion.Rather, the promotion-offering business need only acquire a relativelysmall number of account numbers from the account issuing banking system128 and may still uniquely identify each promotion.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram 200 of an account issuing bank system 128.While FIG. 2 illustrates transaction processing functionality residentin the account issuing bank system, the functionality described in FIG.2 and FIG. 4 may additionally or alternatively be found in the acquiringbank system 116, the intermediary system 124, a combination thereof, orin a third party system. The account issuing bank system 128communicates with consumers 102 and merchant systems 112 to exchangeinformation, such as updates to consumer accounts 130, promotiondatabase 132, and consumer profile data 134. The merchant systems 112and/or third party promotion-offering businesses may provide updates forthe promotions database 132. The consumers 102, as the result ofinteractions with the account issuing bank 128, may update the consumerprofile data 134 and consumer accounts 130. The account issuing banksystem 128 may use inputs from the consumers 102 and the merchantssystems 112 to efficiently correlate promotions with the consumers' 102eligibility to receive and/or redeem promotions.

To facilitate the various embodiments described herein, the transactionprocessing system relies upon accessing the promotion database 132. FIG.3a illustrates operations, from the perspective of a device, such as thepromotion identifying module 146, for managing the promotion database132. The promotion database may be hosted by the promotion-offeringbusiness (i.e., by a server or other processing circuitry), the accountissuing bank system 128, an intermediary system 124, the acquiring banksystem 116, or merchant system 112.

During the foregoing description of FIG. 3a , as well as FIGS. 3b -10,reference may periodically be made to items described above with respectto FIG. 1. In this regard, like reference numerals are intended to referto like items.

Referring now to FIG. 3a , the device, such as the promotion identifyingmodule 146, may receive input data, at operation 301, comprising anaccount number, a transaction amount, a merchant identifier, or aconsumer identifier. In this regard, the input data, the device, such asthe promotion identifying module 146, may generate a promotionidentifier indicative of a promotion at operation 303. After generatinga promotion identifier, the device, such as promotion identifying module146, may correlate the promotion identifier to the account number, thetransaction amount, the merchant identifier, or the consumer identifierat operation 305. The device, such as promotion identifying module 146,may store the promotion identifier and the correlated account number,transaction amount, merchant identifier, or consumer identifier atoperation 307.

As will be described in greater detail below in connection withredemption, a promotion may be identified using any of the abovecorrelated variables, thus enabling a query of the promotion database132 to evaluate whether any particular request for authorization maycorrespond to the promotion. In addition, each promotion identifier maybe associated with a redemption field that may be used to indicatewhether the promotion is eligible for redemption.

For example, in one embodiment, the promotion database may be queried todetermine whether a particular consumer is authorized to redeem aparticular promotion. In such embodiment, a promotion identifying module146 may query a redemption field in the promotion database that isassociated with a stored promotion identifier, an account number, atransaction amount, a merchant identifier, or a consumer identifier. Theredemption field may be used to ensure that promotions are only redeemedan authorized number of times, as discussed below.

FIG. 3b shows a logic flow 300 used by the merchant system 112 todetermine whether a consumer may redeem a promotion. The merchant system112 receives a consumer's account number 104. The account number mayinclude the type of account (e.g., credit account, charge account, debitaccount, loyalty account), the account issuing bank system 128, and aconsumer account number. The merchant system 112 also retrieves atransaction amount 122 that is correlated with the promotion. Theretrieval of the transaction amount may be performed manually such as bya store clerk who selects the transaction amount indicative of a desiredpromotion. Alternatively, the retrieval of the transaction amount may bedone at least partly by the merchant system 112. For example, the storeclerk may input the type of promotion, and the merchant system mayautomatically generate an appropriate transaction amount that isassociated with the promotion. As another example, the merchant system112 may scan a barcode, QR code, or other similar representation of anaccount number presented on a card, printed to paper, or displayed on amobile phone. The merchant system 112 may use the account number toaccess a database that includes promotions for a plurality of merchantsto determine whether the received transaction amount 122 indicates apromotion for one or more merchants (e.g., merchants may collaborate tooffer promotions to their collective consumers).

In some embodiments, once the merchant system 112 determines atransaction amount 122 that indicates a promotion, the merchant system112 is able to generate a request for authorization includingtransaction information such as a merchant identifier, an accountnumber, and the transaction amount at operation 302. The merchant system112 then transmits at operation 304 the request for authorizationcontaining the account number and transaction amount, the latter ofwhich in this embodiment is indicative of the promotion to the acquiringbank 124. The merchant system 112 receives a transaction authorizationat operation 306, which indicates whether or not the promotion has beenauthorized. Based on the transaction authorization, the merchant is ableto accept or decline the request to consumer's request to redeem thepromotion.

FIG. 4 shows a logic flow 400, including transaction processing logicused in conjunction with some embodiments, and operations that areperformed by promotion identifying module 146. The transactionprocessing system 100 may host the transaction processing logic and/orthe promotion identifying module 146 in the merchant system 112, theacquiring bank system 116, the card system 124, or the account issuingbank system 128, or any combination thereof. For example, thetransaction processing logic may be implemented in the account issuingbank system 128, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 4, the account issuing bank system 128 receives atoperation 402 a request for authorization containing transactioninformation, which here includes an account number 104 and a transactionamount 122. The account issuing bank system 128 may then implement thetransaction processing logic, and determine whether the transactionamount 122 satisfies a transaction threshold at operation 404. Thetransaction threshold may suggest that the transaction amount 122 isbelow a predetermined amount and is thus indicative of a specificpromotion. As one example, transaction amounts below $1.00 may be usedto indicate specific promotions. In this regard, a $0.01 transactionamount may indicate a promotion for a $10 discount at the merchant'sbusiness, while a $0.02 transaction amount may indicate a promotion fora complementary service at the merchant's business. Of course, thetransaction threshold amount may be over $1.00 but under some otherdollar amount (e.g., $5.00). When the transaction processing logic isimplemented by the account issuing bank system 128, the transactionthreshold amount may be configured so that it meets a minimum amountrequired for the card network to process the transaction as a regulartransaction and forward it to the account issuing bank system 128.However, in other embodiments where the transaction processing logic isimplemented by the account issuing bank system 128, and in alternativeembodiments where the transaction processing logic is implemented by theacquiring bank system 116 or the card system 126, no minimum amount maybe needed.

When the transaction amount does not satisfy the transaction threshold(i.e., indicating that the transaction is not correlated to apromotion), the account issuing bank system 128 proceeds to operation406 and examines the customer account 130 of the consumer 102 todetermine whether the customer account 130 has a sufficient creditbalance to cover the transaction. If so, the account issuing bank system128 may authorize the transaction and generate an authorization code140. The authorization code 140 is sent back to the acquiring banksystem 116 (through the card processing system 124), which sends theauthorization code 140 as an approval or denial message to the merchantsystem 112 that sent the request for authorization 114.

When the transaction threshold is satisfied by the transaction amount122, the account issuing bank system 128 sends the request to thepromotion identifying module 146, which analyzes the transaction amount122 to determine whether the transaction amount indicates a specificpromotion at operation 408. This determination may involve querying thepromotion database 132, which may store transaction amounts correlatedwith promotions.

The promotion identifying module 146 may then determine whether theconsumer is entitled to the specific promotion or specific reward. Forexample, the promotion identifying module 146 may access a consumerprofile database to determine whether the consumer (e.g., identified bya consumer identifier) is eligible for the promotion at operation 410.The promotion identifying module 146 may determine that the consumer isnot eligible for the promotion by determining whether the consumer hassatisfied eligibility requirements for the promotion (such as by havingpreviously acquired and/or purchased the promotion) at operation 412.When the consumer is not eligible for the promotion, the promotionidentifying module 146 may send back a transaction authorizationcontaining a denial message via the various intermediaries to themerchant system 112 that sent the request for authorization 114.Alternatively, when the consumer is eligible for the promotion, thepromotion identifying module 146 may send back a transactionauthorization containing an approval message to the merchant system 112that sent the request for authorization 114 at operation 414.

If a promotion is approved, the promotion identifying module 146 mayupdate the promotion database 132 to designate that the identifiedpromotion has been redeemed at operation 416. Such designation ofpromotion redemption may be executed in a variety of ways. For example,a redemption field may be modified in the promotion database 132indicating the status of the promotion. Thus, the promotion may nolonger be available for further redemption. Alternatively, theredemption field may be a numerical identifier associated with thepromotion in the promotion database, and may be decremented to updatethe number of redemptions of the promotion that remain. In thisembodiment, although a promotion has been redeemed, additionalredemptions may still be valid as long as the redemption field isgreater than zero. In another alternative implementation, the promotiondatabase may remove the association between the promotion and theparticular user or particular transaction. In this embodiment, thepromotion may be redeemable, but only by other consumers or for othertransactions. Finally, in another embodiment, the promotion may beremoved altogether from the promotion database. In this embodiment, thepromotion can no longer be redeemed by any consumer, and the promotionidentifier associated with the promotion may be reused by the merchantfor other promotions. Of course, additional or alternative methods forupdating the promotion database 132 are contemplated that may suitablymark the promotion for any subsequent promotion identificationoperation.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram 500 for a merchant system 112. The merchantsystem 112 interacts with consumers 102 who engage the merchant forproducts or services, and the merchant's acquiring bank system 116 thatmaintains the merchant's accounts. The merchant system 112 may maintaina local copy and/or different databases of information including apromotions database 502, consumer profile data 504, and consumeraccounts 506 for consumers who do business with the merchant 112. Themerchant system 112 may update corresponding information (e.g.,promotions database 502, consumer profile data 504, and consumers'accounts 506) held by the transaction processing system (which mayinclude the acquiring bank system 116, the card system 124, and/or theaccount issuing bank system 128, as described in connection with theexample of FIG. 4).

FIG. 6 shows an example embodiment 600 in which the transactionprocessing system 100 may process a request for authorization based on aloyalty card. As discussed with respect to FIG. 1, the consumer maypresent a loyalty card to the merchant system 112. The card may be adual-purpose card in that it may be used for a first use (e.g., as acredit card, a debit card, or a charge card) and for a second use (e.g.,as a promotion redemption card). Alternatively, the card may be a singlepurpose card. For example, a consumer 102 may use a loyalty card (e.g.,a Groupon® card) to pay a bill, in which case the loyalty card may beused for this single purpose. Alternatively, the consumer 102 maypurchase products or services and also redeem promotions using theloyalty card.

As shown in FIG. 6, the consumer 102 presents the loyalty card to themerchant system 112 at operation 602. The merchant may enter into apoint-of-sale system an account number, perhaps by reading a magneticstripe or scanning a barcode, to initiate an authorization transaction(e.g., a request for authorization). While a physical card is shown thepresent invention also encompasses “virtual” loyalty cards havingaccount numbers (e.g., barcodes, QR codes, Near Field Communicationtags, etc.) that may be presented or displayed by a mobile phone asdiscussed above.

In one embodiment, the merchant system 112 may distinguish amongmultiple available promotions by identifying a transaction amount 122(i.e., the $0.01 transaction amount discussed above) or other promotioncode (e.g., rewards logic identifier 120) that is indicative of apromotion for a product or service at operation 604. The point-of-saledevice used by the merchant transmits the request for authorization,which includes the account number and the transaction amount 122 orpromotion code indicative of the specific promotion to the intermediarysystem at operation 606. The intermediary system in turn identifies androutes the request for authorization to the account issuing bank system128 to determine whether the transaction amount or promotion code isindicative of a valid promotion and accordingly whether the consumer iseligible for the promotion. In this regard, because the account issuingbank system 128 may be the party that generates and manages promotions(i.e., Groupon®), it may not be necessary to partner with a third partybank for management of the consumer accounts 130, promotions database132, or the consumer profile database 134.

Following the authorization of a promotion, the transaction processingsystem may “continue” the transaction in order to pay for acorresponding product or service. In an instance in which the cost ofthe product or service is greater than the redemption value of thepromotion, the merchant may swipe the loyalty card a second time (orswipe another card) to pay any balance remaining after redemption valueof the promotion at operations 608 and 610. Thus, a loyalty card that isissued by a Groupon® member to facilitate redemption of a purchasedGroupon® promotion may also allow the consumer to pay overage amountsand make additional purchases. In the case of a wallet card (e.g., acredit card, a debit card, a charge card), the consumer may or may notbe required to load funds onto the wallet card in order for theredemption functionality to work. In addition, the reconciliationprocess may be initiated following the redemption of a promotion.

FIG. 7 shows a transaction processing system configuration 700. Thetransaction processing system configuration 700 includes the transactionprocessing system 702. The transaction processing system 702 includes aprocessor 704 and memory 706 coupled to a communications interface 708through which the transaction processing system 702 communicates withvarious components of the transaction processing system configuration700 in communication through a network 710 (e.g., the Internet). Thememory 706 includes an account number 712, when a consumer (e.g.,customer) uses a credit card to complete a transaction. The accountnumber 712 identifies the type of card 714, the account issuing bank716, and the consumer's account identifier 718. The merchant (e.g.,merchant system 112) may input the account number 712, and thetransaction amount 720 (e.g., using a user interface or point-of-salesystem). The merchant system sends a request for authorization 722 tothe acquiring bank system in order to obtain authorization for thetransaction. The request for authorization 722 may include a merchantidentifier 724 (or other type of transaction identifier), the accountnumber 712, optionally a reward logic identifier 726, and thetransaction amount 720. The reward logic identifier 726 containsadditional data that can be used to process a request for authorization.The acquiring bank system in turn forwards the request for authorization722 to the intermediary system, which may use a router (e.g., routerlogic 730) to identify an account issuing bank system corresponding tothe account number 712 and to forward the request for authorization 722to the account issuing bank system 128.

The account issuing bank system 128 maintains up-to-date information onthe consumer's account 732 (e.g., account balance 734, and accountstatus 736). The account issuing bank system may maintain a promotiondatabase 132, and a consumer profile database. The merchant system mayperiodically communicate updates 738 to the promotion database, whilethe consumer may periodically communicate updates 740 to the consumerprofile database.

When one or both of the account number and transaction amount indicate aspecific promotion, the account issuing bank system 128 determineswhether the customer is authorized for the promotion. In particular,when the request for authorization 722 is indicative of a promotion andthe transaction authorization (e.g., authorization code 742) identifiesan approval of the transaction 744, the authorization code 742 may besent authorizing the promotion. In one embodiment, the authorizationcode 742 may optionally include a promotion identifier 746 and apromotion value 748 that identifies a redeemable value amount for thepromotion identified by the promotion identifier 746.

For example, a consumer may dine at a restaurant where the merchantenters the consumer's account number, redeems a promotion for dining atthe restaurant (by sending a request for authorization includingtransaction information such as a card number/transaction amountindicative of the promotion), and subsequently completes a secondtransaction to pay the remaining balance due for dining at therestaurant.

However, a different payment transaction does not occur in everyembodiment herein. In some embodiments, the account number entered inthe request for authorization may indicate a promotion while thetransaction amount indicates the price for the relevant product orservice that the consumer wants to purchase from a merchant. In suchembodiments, because the account number indicates the promotion to beredeemed and the transaction amount indicates the actual cost of thetransaction, the request for authorization may complete the entireconsumer-merchant purchase.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow diagram 800 used in conjunction with anexample embodiment that uses account numbers to identify promotions witha point-of-sale terminal. Initially, the merchant may receive an accountnumber from the consumer at operation 802. Upon receipt of the accountnumber, the merchant may enter the account number and the cost of theconsumer's transaction (as the transaction amount) into a point-of-saleterminal for authorization of the consumer's purchase at operation 804.The request for authorization may then be transmitted by the merchant'ssystem to the acquiring bank system. The acquiring bank system transmitsthe request for authorization to an intermediary system that identifiesthe consumer's account issuing bank system 128. As discussed previously,in some embodiments, the account issuing bank system 128 may be thepromotion-offering business. The request for authorization is forwardedto the promotion identifying module 146, which may determine whether theaccount number is correlated with a promotion stored in promotiondatabase 132 at operation 806. If no match can be found, the transactionis processed as a regular transaction unrelated to a promotion, and theaccount issuing bank system 128 may authorize (or not) the transactionaccordingly at operation 808.

However, when the promotion identifying module 146 determines that theaccount number correlates with a promotion, the promotion identifyingmodule 146 may determine whether a balance remains after redemption ofthe promotion at operation 810. In this regard, the promotionidentifying module 146 may first apply the promotion to the transactionamount, in situations in which the promotion is a discount, rebate, orother means of altering the transaction amount. After application of thepromotion, the promotion identifying module 146 may calculate aremaining balance due to the merchant.

If no balance remains, the promotion identifying module 146 may return atransaction authorization comprising an authorization code approving therequest, which is sent through the chain of intermediaries to themerchant system 112 at operation 814. Upon receiving authorization ofthe request sent by the point of sale terminal, the merchant may alertthe consumer that the transaction has been completed, and/or take anyadditional action specified by the promotion (such as, for example,providing the consumer with additional products or services, as dictatedby the terms of the promotion).

However, if a balance remains after redemption of the promotion, thepromotion identifying module 146 may identify a consumer's account, andcharge the consumer's account 130 for the remaining balance at operation812. Such a charge may be, for example, an electronic funds transferfrom a bank account listed in the consumer's account, or a credittransaction using a payment card (such as a credit card or charge card)listed in the consumer's account. Alternatively, the promotionidentifying module 146 may relay a message to a promotion-offeringbusiness that may perform operation 812. The promotion identifyingmodule 146 may forward payment of the remaining balance to the acquiringbank system 116 to complete the transaction (although this operationmay, in some embodiments, be performed prior to charging the consumer'saccount). The promotion identifying module 146 may authorize thetransaction at operation 814.

In the foregoing embodiment, the merchant may receive authorization fora transaction (even if not associated with a promotion or if suchtransaction exceeds a value for any associated promotion) withoutrequiring a second form of payment from the consumer to complete thetransaction (i.e., such second form of payment was pre-registered withthe consumer's account). Finally, the promotion identifying module 146may update the promotion database 132 to reflect that the promotion hasbeen redeemed, in a similar fashion as described above with respect tooperation 416 of FIG. 4.

Having described various embodiments of the invention, FIG. 9illustrates an example demonstrating operation of the transactionprocessing apparatus in accordance with FIG. 8 above. In this example, apromotion-offering business offers a “$10 for $20” promotion that may beredeemed at a merchant (i.e., paying $10 to purchase the promotionprovides $20 worth of credit to a consumer for the purchase of goods orservices from the merchant) at operation 901. A consumer purchases thepromotion for $10 at operation 902.

Subsequently, the consumer wishes to redeem the promotion whenpurchasing goods or services from the merchant. At the point-of-saleterminal, the merchant calculates a total purchase price of $75 for thetransaction, at which time the consumer notifies the merchant of his/herintent to redeem the previously purchased promotion. In this example,the consumer presents an account number to use for the transaction. Fromthe perspective of the consumer, the merchant enters the account numberand the $75 transaction amount and submits a request for authorizationat operation 903. The consumer redeems the promotion (operation 904) andacquires the desired goods or services (operation 905). From theconsumer's perspective, the transaction is complete.

However, as described in connection with the embodiment disclosed inFIG. 8, the transaction is processed in the following manner. Therequest for authorization (including transaction information such as theaccount number provided by the consumer) is routed to a promotionidentifying module 146 at operation 903. The promotion identifyingmodule 146 determines whether the account number corresponds to aredeemable promotion. Upon determining that the account numbercorresponds to a redeemable promotion, the promotion identifying module146 transmits a transaction authorization that authorizes thetransaction at operation 906. In addition, however, the promotionidentifying module 146 applies the promotion and calculates a remainingbalance, which it (or the promotion-offering business) charges to theconsumer's account. In this case, the remaining balance is $55. Seeoperation 904. This balance is subsequently recovered by the promotionidentifying module 146 or the promotion-offering business at operation905.

From the perspective of the merchant, a $75 transaction is captured(operation 907) that otherwise may not have been (i.e., without theincentive offered by the promotion). Finally, the remaining balance istransmitted to the merchant's account at the acquiring bank system 116,so the merchant also receives efficient payment at operation 908.

As disclosed above, the transaction processing system may leverageequipment and infrastructure used by merchants to implement a loyaltyrewards program that allows consumers to redeem promotions at multipleparticipating merchants. In this fashion, the transaction processingsystem may provide an efficient and effective low-cost way for consumersto redeem promotions with participating merchants.

The system may be deployed as a general computer system used in anetworked deployment. The computer system may operate in the capacity ofa server or as a client user computer in a server-client user networkenvironment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer (ordistributed) network environment. The computer system may also beimplemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as a personalcomputer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptop computer,a desktop computer, a communications device, a wireless telephone, aland-line telephone, a control system, a camera, a scanner, a facsimilemachine, a printer, a pager, a personal trusted device, a web appliance,a network router, switch or bridge, or any other machine capable ofexecuting a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specifyactions to be taken by that machine. In a particular embodiment, thecomputer system may be implemented using electronic devices that providevoice, video or data communication. Further, while a single computersystem may be illustrated, the term “system” shall also be taken toinclude any collection of systems or sub-systems that individually orjointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructions to perform oneor more computer functions.

The computer system may include a processor, such as, a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both. Theprocessor may be a component in a variety of systems. For example, theprocessor may be part of a standard personal computer or a workstation.The processor may be one or more general processors, digital signalprocessors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmablegate arrays, servers, networks, digital circuits, analog circuits,combinations thereof, or other now known or later developed devices foranalyzing and processing data. The processors and memories discussedherein, as well as the claims below, may be embodied in and implementedin one or multiple physical chips or circuit combinations. The processormay execute a software program, such as code generated manually (i.e.,programmed).

The computer system may include a memory that can communicate via a bus.The memory may be a main memory, a static memory, or a dynamic memory.The memory may include, but may not be limited to computer readablestorage media such as various types of volatile and non-volatile storagemedia, including but not limited to random access memory, read-onlymemory, programmable read-only memory, electrically programmableread-only memory, electrically erasable read-only memory, flash memory,magnetic tape or disk, optical media and the like. In one case, thememory may include a cache or random access memory for the processor.Alternatively or in addition, the memory may be separate from theprocessor, such as a cache memory of a processor, the memory, or othermemory. The memory may be an external storage device or database forstoring data. Examples may include a hard drive, compact disc (“CD”),digital video disc (“DVD”), memory card, memory stick, floppy disc,universal serial bus (“USB”) memory device, or any other deviceoperative to store data. The memory may be operable to storeinstructions executable by the processor. The functions, acts or tasksillustrated in the figures or described herein may be performed by theprogrammed processor executing the instructions stored in the memory.The functions, acts or tasks may be independent of the particular typeof instructions set, storage media, processor or processing strategy andmay be performed by software, hardware, integrated circuits, firm-ware,micro-code and the like, operating alone or in combination. Likewise,processing strategies may include multiprocessing, multitasking,parallel processing and the like.

The computer system may further include a display, such as a liquidcrystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a flatpanel display, a solid state display, a cathode ray tube (CRT), aprojector, a printer or other now known or later developed displaydevice for outputting determined information. The display may act as aninterface for the user to see the functioning of the processor, orspecifically as an interface with the software stored in the memory orin the drive unit.

Additionally, the computer system may include an input device configuredto allow a user to interact with any of the components of system. Theinput device may be a number pad, a keyboard, or a cursor controldevice, such as a mouse, or a joystick, touch screen display, remotecontrol or any other device operative to interact with the system.

The computer system may also include a disk or optical drive unit. Thedisk drive unit may include a computer-readable medium in which one ormore sets of instructions, e.g., software, can be embedded. Further, theinstructions may perform one or more of the methods or logic asdescribed herein. The instructions may reside completely, or at leastpartially, within the memory and/or within the processor duringexecution by the computer system. The memory and the processor also mayinclude computer-readable media as discussed above.

The present disclosure contemplates a computer-readable medium thatincludes instructions or receives and executes instructions responsiveto a propagated signal, so that a device connected to a network maycommunicate voice, video, audio, images or any other data over thenetwork. Further, the instructions may be transmitted or received overthe network via a communication interface. The communication interfacemay be a part of the processor or may be a separate component. Thecommunication interface may be created in software or may be a physicalconnection in hardware. The communication interface may be configured toconnect with a network, external media, the display, or any othercomponents in system, or combinations thereof. The connection with thenetwork may be a physical connection, such as a wired Ethernetconnection or may be established wirelessly as discussed below.Likewise, the additional connections with other components of the DCBRsystem 102 may be physical connections or may be established wirelessly.In the case of a service provider server, the service provider servermay communicate with users through the communication interface.

The network may include wired networks, wireless networks, orcombinations thereof. The wireless network may be a cellular telephonenetwork, an 802.11, 802.16, 802.20, or WiMax network. Further, thenetwork may be a public network, such as the Internet, a privatenetwork, such as an intranet, or combinations thereof, and may utilize avariety of networking protocols now available or later developedincluding, but not limited to TCP/IP based networking protocols.

The computer-readable medium may be a single medium, or thecomputer-readable medium may be a single medium or multiple media, suchas a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches andservers that store one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” may also include any medium that may becapable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions forexecution by a processor or that may cause a computer system to performany one or more of the methods or operations disclosed herein.

The computer-readable medium may include a solid-state memory such as amemory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatileread-only memories. The computer-readable medium also may be a randomaccess memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally, thecomputer-readable medium may include a magneto-optical or opticalmedium, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device to capturecarrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over a transmissionmedium. A digital file attachment to an email or other self-containedinformation archive or set of archives may be considered a distributionmedium that may be a tangible storage medium. The computer-readablemedium may be a non-transitory storage medium. Accordingly, thedisclosure may be considered to include any one or more of acomputer-readable medium or a distribution medium and other equivalentsand successor media, in which data or instructions may be stored.

Alternatively or in addition, dedicated hardware implementations, suchas application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arraysand other hardware devices, may be constructed to implement one or moreof the methods described herein. Applications that may include theapparatus and systems of various embodiments may broadly include avariety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodimentsdescribed herein may implement functions using two or more specificinterconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and datasignals that may be communicated between and through the modules, or asportions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, thepresent system may encompass software, firmware, and hardwareimplementations.

The methods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system. Further, implementations may includedistributed processing, component/object distributed processing, andparallel processing. Alternatively or in addition, virtual computersystem processing may be constructed to implement one or more of themethods or functionality as described herein.

Although components and functions are described that may be implementedin particular embodiments with reference to particular standards andprotocols, the components and functions are not limited to suchstandards and protocols. For example, standards for Internet and otherpacket switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, andHTTP) represent examples of the state of the art. Such standards areperiodically superseded by faster or more efficient equivalents havingessentially the same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards andprotocols having the same or similar functions as those disclosed hereinare considered equivalents thereof.

The illustrations described herein are intended to provide a generalunderstanding of the structure of various embodiments. The illustrationsare not intended to serve as a complete description of all of theelements and features of apparatus, processors, and systems that utilizethe structures or methods described herein. Many other embodiments maybe apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the disclosure.Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from the disclosure, suchthat structural and logical substitutions and changes may be madewithout departing from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, theillustrations are merely representational and may not be drawn to scale.Certain proportions within the illustrations may be exaggerated, whileother proportions may be minimized. Accordingly, the disclosure and thefigures are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall withinthe true spirit and scope of the description. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope is to be determined by the broadestpermissible interpretation of the following claims and theirequivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoingdetailed description.

1-52. (canceled)
 53. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one non-transitory memory comprising program code, the at least one non-transitory memory and the program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive an authorization request, wherein the authorization request comprises an account number and a transaction amount; determine whether the transaction amount satisfies a transaction threshold; in response to determining that the transaction amount satisfies the transaction threshold, determine whether the transaction amount correlates to a promotion; and in response to determining that the transaction amount correlates to the promotion, identify a consumer profile based at least on the account number.
 54. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the at least one non-transitory memory and the program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to further: determine whether the consumer profile satisfies a promotion requirement associated with the promotion; and in response to determining that the consumer profile satisfies the promotion requirement, generate a transaction authorization indicative of the promotion.
 55. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the account number comprises an account type identifier, an issuing bank identifier, and a consumer account identifier.
 56. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein identifying the consumer profile is further based on the consumer account identifier associated with the account number.
 57. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein determining whether the transaction amount correlates to the promotion further causes the apparatus to retrieve a correlation look-up table stored in the at least one non-transitory memory, wherein the correlation look-up table indicates correlations between at least one promotion and at least one transaction amount.
 58. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein the authorization request further comprises a reward logic identifier, wherein the at least one non-transitory memory and the program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to further generates a correlation between the promotion and the transaction amount in the correlation look-up table based on the reward logic identifier.
 59. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the at least one non-transitory memory and the program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to further: determine whether the consumer profile satisfies a promotion requirement associated with the promotion; and in response to determining that the consumer profile does not satisfy the promotion requirement, generate an electronic indication that the promotion is not authorized.
 60. A computer-implemented method, comprising: receiving an authorization request, wherein the authorization request comprises an account number and a transaction amount; determining whether the transaction amount satisfies a transaction threshold; in response to determining that the transaction amount satisfies the transaction threshold, determining whether the transaction amount correlates to a promotion; and in response to determining that the transaction amount correlates to the promotion, identifying a consumer profile based at least on the account number.
 61. The computer-implemented method of claim 60, further comprising: determining whether the consumer profile satisfies a promotion requirement associated with the promotion; and in response to determining that the consumer profile satisfies the promotion requirement, generating a transaction authorization indicative of the promotion.
 62. The computer-implemented method of claim 60, wherein the account number comprises an account type identifier, an issuing bank identifier, and a consumer account identifier.
 63. The computer-implemented method of claim 62, wherein identifying the consumer profile is further based on the consumer account identifier associated with the account number.
 64. The computer-implemented method of claim 60, wherein determining whether the transaction amount correlates to the promotion further comprises retrieving a correlation look-up table, wherein the correlation look-up table indicates correlations between at least one promotion and at least one transaction amount.
 65. The computer-implemented method of claim 64, wherein the authorization request further comprises a reward logic identifier, wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises generating a correlation between the promotion and the transaction amount in the correlation look-up table based on the reward logic identifier.
 66. The computer-implemented method of claim 60, further comprising: determining whether the consumer profile satisfies a promotion requirement associated with the promotion; and in response to determining that the consumer profile does not satisfy the promotion requirement, generating an electronic indication that the promotion is not authorized.
 67. A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program code portions comprising an executable portion configured to: receive an authorization request, wherein the authorization request comprises an account number and a transaction amount; determine whether the transaction amount satisfies a transaction threshold; in response to determining that the transaction amount satisfies the transaction threshold, determine whether the transaction amount correlates to a promotion; and in response to determining that the transaction amount correlates to the promotion, identify a consumer profile based at least on the account number.
 68. The computer program product of claim 67, wherein the executable portion is further configured to: determine whether the consumer profile satisfies a promotion requirement associated with the promotion; and in response to determining that the consumer profile satisfies the promotion requirement, generate a transaction authorization indicative of the promotion.
 69. The computer program product of claim 67, wherein the account number comprises an account type identifier, an issuing bank identifier, and a consumer account identifier.
 70. The computer program product of claim 69, wherein identifying the consumer profile is further based on the consumer account identifier associated with the account number.
 71. The computer program product of claim 67, wherein determining whether the transaction amount correlates to the promotion further comprises retrieving a correlation look-up table, wherein the correlation look-up table indicates correlations between at least one promotion and at least one transaction amount.
 72. The computer program product of claim 71, wherein the authorization request further comprises a reward logic identifier, wherein the executable portion is further configured to generate a correlation between the promotion and the transaction amount in the correlation look-up table based on the reward logic identifier. 